


Lessons in Climbing

by stillwaitingforaliens



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Flash Fic, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22109836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillwaitingforaliens/pseuds/stillwaitingforaliens
Summary: Byleth teaches Claude a thing or two about proper tree climbing technique.Inspired by the Claude and Petra support chain.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Lessons in Climbing

**Author's Note:**

> I used to climb trees in college to do my readings. Now, I climb silks and poles and do circus stuff. I'm not cut out for the ground.
> 
> Once again, posted from my phone...

Given how full Garreg Mach could be, it was difficult to find a place to hide. Byleth had searched for a place to quietly do some work for half an hour and no where, not even the classroom or her quarters seemed silent enough. With an exasperated sigh, she headed for the woods outside the monastery walls. Maybe that would be peaceful enough.

Thankfully the woods were empty of people, only the sounds of animals and the gentle breeze stirring the late summer leaves. She found a tree with strong looking branches starting low on the trunk, threw her bag onto it, and pulled herself up and over the branch. Putting the bag back over her shoulder, she made the climb to a higher spot, testing each limb to make sure it could take her weight, until she felt she had a good spot to relax and observe her surroundings. Satisfied, she pulled her lesson plans from her bag and started going over them.

Each of the students had their own unique needs to match their talents and their goals for life. Leonie’s desire to be just like Jeralt required her to learn to ride; Lysithea’s overachieving nature meant she needed to learn to relax, a lesson more difficult to impart. Each student’s goals required working out schedules with other professors to ensure quality learning, while she took the initiative in the majority of weapons training, and while her archery was improving with practice (in part due to tips from her more skilled students), she still needed to pull in experts for that particular skill set.

Beneath her perch, she heard the sound of twigs snapping. Byleth’s head snapped up from her book, and she found one of her students trying to climb the tree next to her. Claude was struggling, comically so. Stifling a laugh, she stuffed the lesson plans back in the bag and climbed down, flipping herself from the lowest branch and onto the ground. 

“You’ll never get up like that.” 

Claude spun around, startled. “Teach!”

“Unless you have the upper body strength to climb up without your feet, you need to use them.” She dropped the bag and jumped. Her hands grasped the branch and she swung her legs to press her feet against the trunk. She walked them up until she could wrap her legs around the branch and then shifted her grip to swing her over onto the top of the branch, still wrapped around it. Carefully, she stood up, balanced herself with nearby branches, and then stepped onto the next branch, using one leg, and then the other to propel herself higher. “Like that.” She settled back against the trunk, straddling the strong branch beneath her. 

“Alright.” It took Claude a couple tries to get himself onto the lowest branch, but once he was there, he climbed to sit on a nearby branch. He was a little red in the face from exertion, but happy. “You made that look easy.”

“I used to climb trees to be a lookout before my father let me hold a sword. And you picked a less than ideal tree to climb. You need the strong branches close enough that you don’t have to pull yourself at all. It’s not always possible, but your legs should always do the majority of the work, no matter what you’re climbing.” The lowest branch was a good distance from the next strong looking limb, and Byleth pointed out the gap. 

“Alright.” He nodded. “Use your legs.”

“And your abs, but not your arms. I’ll show you.” She climbed down and waited for him to pick his way down before selecting an easier tree. “Watch.” The branch was thinner than most and she grasped it with both hands, took a big step forward and pulled herself over the branch so her stomach rested on it. After a moment to balance, she lifted one leg and then pressed herself to a crouch, and began climbing again. “You need your abs to help lift your legs.” 

Claude followed, though his balance was a little shaky.

Byleth found a nice branch to sit on. It was wide enough that she didn’t have to straddle it to sit comfortably. Claude sat next to her after ascending. “I think I need to lift weights like Raphael for this.”

“It probably wouldn’t hurt, if climbing trees is really something you want to do. But the best way to build the right muscles for something is to practice that activity.” 

“Well, every muscle in my body feels like jelly. I guess I need the practice. But this view is incredible.”

The sun was shining on the distant walls of Garreg Mach, the wyvern and pegasus patrols flying over the monastery, and it was indeed a pretty sight. The world seemed peaceful, though they both knew little battles and skirmishes were cropping up just outside the monastery’s territory. 

“We should get Ignatz to paint it.” 

“There’s a lot of things we should get Ignatz to paint, Teach.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [tumblr](https://writingforaliens.tumblr.com) where I sporadically post doodles and writing updates.


End file.
